Vanderbilt woman bags one of county's biggest bucks

December 07, 2004|By Mary Jergenson, Staff Writer

OTSEGO COUNTY- With white-tailed deer firearm season in the bag, the tally of harvested animals is about 10 percent below last year, according to Brian Mastenbrook, Wildlife Habitat biologist with the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) in Gaylord.

"We checked 961 deer this year which is down from last year's total of 1,050," noted Mastenbrook. "I am not sure if this is a reflection of the declining deer herd or if hunters are less interested in having deer checked for TB."

The DNR has set up six deer-check stations in northern Michigan where hunters can bring their deer to be checked for bovine Tuberculosis (TB). Mastenbrook cited the 2000 deer harvest when the threat of bovine TB was new, noting, "We checked 1,500 deer that year."

While Mastenbrook would not call this year "outstanding," he did classify 2004 as a "good" season.

Vanderbilt resident Laura Walter, who saw 185 deer at her hunting spot near a swamp in Corwith Township, waited for the right deer to come along. Her wait paid off when she bagged an eight-point buck at about 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the last day of the season.

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"I waited for this guy," stated Walter whose buck dressed out at 190 pounds. This was Walter's fifth year hunting. The eight-point buck was her fifth deer taken.

Although data on size of deer taken in the county is not available from the DNR, Walter was told her buck could be one of the biggest ever shot in Otsego County.

The 2004 season was a relatively safe hunting season with only one fatality reported in the state according to DNR Law Enforcement officer Jeff Gaither. "There was one shooting fatality in Hillsdale County. The North Zone had only one firearm-related incident which occurred near Roscommon, when a hunter, walking with a loaded gun, tripped and injured his hand." Gaither believes hunter safety programs and widespread hunter education has significantly reduced the number of hunting-related incidents.

Gaither indicated while firearm season is officially over, bow season continues through Jan. 2. Black powder season runs from Friday, Dec. 10, through Sunday, Dec. 19.

Beginning in January, Mastenbrook will participate in a statewide evaluation of the management of the deer herd. Currently the DNR likes to keep the number of deer to 20-25 per square miles.

While considering whether to raise or lower that number, DNR officials will be looking at capacity, and disease issues while surveying the herd.

"We don't want to have another hard winter when we lose thousands of deer to starvation," Mastenbrook said. "It would be better to have that meat in someone's freezer."